# Strategy Guide — Scenario 134: "The Appeal Beside the Case"

*Game documentation for a fictional simulation in "The First 90 Days" (Tactic Watch). The family, the case, and every choice below are fictional. This guide is general information about how the scenario is built — it is not legal advice for any real case.*

## (1) The win

**Best ending: "Ending — Both Columns Closed."**

This is a **full** win — both proceedings closed completely, registry expunged and case closed in the same season. It is achievable here because the facts permitted it: the decisive documents (a superintendent's logbook, an intake note, the agency's own correction) existed from the start. The capstone skill is separation: two burdens, two packets, one corridor walked in both directions.

## (2) The route

Verified by walking the scenario graph from the start node (see the verification note at the end). Key decision points, in order — node title, winning choice, and what it changes:

1. **The Boiler Room and the Letter** — *Draw two columns on one page: APPEAL and CASE, each with its own clock* Sets **columnsDrawn**.
2. **Ms. Ndiaye Separates the Burdens** — *Do the paper version: dated, copied, filed* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
3. **Two Envelopes, Two Stamps** — *Carry the page to its file* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
4. **The Calendar Gets Two Colors** — *Carry the page to its file* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
5. **Appeal Week** — *Mail the appeal this week, stamped copy filed, clocks calendared* Cash −$10; Sets **appealFiled**.
6. **Filed, and the Case Goes On** — *Build the work-emergency roster in signatures and file it with the plan* Cash −$5; Sets **rosterSigned**.
7. **The Record, Requested** — *Request the facilities log through counsel, in writing, this week* Cash −$5; Sets **recordsRequested**.
8. **Reading the Mirror's Margins** — *Carry the page to its file* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
9. **Counsel Asks for the Log** — *Carry the page to its file* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
10. **Two Phone Calls** — *Index the logbook page as the appeal's centerpiece, copy filed in both tracks* Sets **logbookFiled**.
11. **The Super's Handwriting** — *Carry the page to its file* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
12. **Copies, Plural** — *Carry the page to its file* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
13. **The Intake Note's Own Correction** — *Build the exhibit set: intake note, logbook, summary — the journey, in three pages* Sets **evidenceReceived**.
14. **The Agency Corrects Itself** — *Make the addendum Exhibit 1 and the logbook Exhibit 2 — their correction leads* Sets **addendumFiled**.
15. **The Case's Spring Review** — *Do the paper version: dated, copied, filed* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
16. **The Addendum's Arrival** — *Carry the page to its file* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
17. **Reading It Twice** — *Carry the page to its file* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
18. **Exhibit One, Framed** — *File the packet with the Bureau and a copy in the case record* Cash −$10; Sets **appealPacket**.
19. **The Chronology, Co-Signed** — *Carry the page to its file* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
20. **The Packet's Weight** — *Carry the page to its file* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
21. **June's Quiet Work** — *Prepare the closing around three exhibits and one standard* Sets **closingReady**.
22. **The Officer's Questions, Rehearsed** — *Carry the page to its file* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
23. **June, in the Case's Column** — *Carry the page to its file* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
24. **Day 31** — *File the expungement in the dependency record the same week* Sets **expungementFiled**.
25. **The Letter, Opened Standing Up** — *Carry the page to its file* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
26. **The Corridor, Walked Last** — *Do the paper version: dated, copied, filed* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
27. **Services, Complete** — *Index the completions into the fall packet as they land* Sets **servicesDone**.
28. **The Safety Shelf** — *Carry the page to its file* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
29. **Completions, Landing Monthly** — *Carry the page to its file* Cash −$5; Sets **paperTrail**.
30. **The Fall Packet** — *File the fall packet two weeks before the closing review* Cash −$10; Sets **fallPacket**.
31. **Ms. Ndiaye's Last Distinction** — *Prepare your statement to match the packet, date for date* Sets **statementReady**.
32. **The Sister's Page** — *File her statement and close the packet* Sets **sisterFiled**.
33. **The Closing Review** — *Ask for closure today, both proceedings complete, the record as filed* This choice is flag-gated: it is only available with **appealFiled** + **recordsRequested** + **fallPacket**.

Supporting choices along the same walk — every "paper version" choice (dated, copied, filed), every written request, and every dated letter — add the documentation the packet is later assembled from. The full walked path is printed in the verification note.

## (3) Why this wins — the law as it is supposed to work

- **Two proceedings, two burdens, never merged.** The Bureau appeal turns on the agency's burden — substantial evidence that the report should remain indicated (23 Pa.C.S. § 6341(c.2)(5)) — while the dependency case turns on the plan and the child's needs under its own review structure. The scenario's board (APPEAL | CASE) is the strategy in one image.
- **Perishable first, again.** Notified February 2, 2026, the § 6341(a)(2) window closed Sunday, May 3, 2026 — a weekend, unmarked by any meeting. It is filed on day 10 precisely because the case's weekly noise is designed by the calendar to drown it.
- **Decisive paper is usually already written.** The logbook (two calls, 9:04 and 11:47) surfaces through the dependency record request (§ 3130.44(d))'s cross-reference; the intake note through the appeal's evidence rule (§ 6341(c.2)(4)); the agency's correction addendum then defeats its own summary from inside its own file — Exhibit 1 by the route's deliberate ordering.
- **Decisions are carried, not announced.** The expungement order is filed into the dependency record the week it issues; the fall packet is built monthly and filed early; counsel (42 Pa.C.S. § 6337) enforces the separation to the last review. The loss branch preserves § 6341(g)'s clocks — reconsideration 15 days from mailing, Commonwealth Court 30 days — for completeness.

## (4) The traps

1. **Focusing on the case and letting the appeal 'wait for spring' at "Appeal Week"** — the case can be continued; the window cannot. That choice is the direct road to **May 3, Unfiled**.
2. **Closing the Bureau hearing on the father's credibility instead of the exhibits** — credibility is a coin flip; the addendum is a white flag. The flip is the road to the split ending — and its § 6341(g) clocks run from mailing.
3. **Keeping the logbook as a hearing surprise** — the agency committed to its summary in writing months earlier; filed paper testifies in both tracks for months, surprises for eleven minutes.
4. **Assuming the fall review will 'hear about' the expungement** — reviews read files. The corridor is walked by the parent, order in hand, or it is not walked.

## (5) What no strategy controls

The hearing officer, the superintendent's habits, the furnace. The route controlled separation, sequencing, and the summoning of documents — in a two-proceeding case, the whole of the controllable.

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*Verification: this route was walked programmatically against `scenario-134.json` — each named choice was followed from the start node in order; every flag-gated choice's requirements were satisfied by flags set earlier on the walk; the walk terminates at the ending node titled "Ending — Both Columns Closed" after visiting 35 nodes, with $50 of the $180 starting cash remaining. Walked path: The Boiler Room and the Letter → Ms. Ndiaye Separates the Burdens → Two Envelopes, Two Stamps → The Calendar Gets Two Colors → Appeal Week → Filed, and the Case Goes On → The Record, Requested → Reading the Mirror's Margins → Counsel Asks for the Log → Two Phone Calls → The Super's Handwriting → Copies, Plural → The Intake Note's Own Correction → The Agency Corrects Itself → The Case's Spring Review → The Addendum's Arrival → Reading It Twice → Exhibit One, Framed → The Chronology, Co-Signed → The Packet's Weight → June's Quiet Work → The Officer's Questions, Rehearsed → June, in the Case's Column → Friday, July 10 → Day 31 → The Letter, Opened Standing Up → The Corridor, Walked Last → Services, Complete → The Safety Shelf → Completions, Landing Monthly → The Fall Packet → Ms. Ndiaye's Last Distinction → The Sister's Page → The Closing Review → Ending — Both Columns Closed.*